The Adventures of Dwalin
by Weatherlibby
Summary: Follow the adventures of Dwalin, one of the thirteen dwarfs on the journey to the Lonely Mountain. There are 6 journal entries telling his POV from the story.
1. Dwalin Before the Hobbit

Good day! I am Dwalin, one of the thirteen dwarves to accompany Thorin and Mr. Baggins to retrieve the long-stolen treasure of our ancestors from the evil dragon, Smaug. I am the younger brother of Balin, another dwarf on the expedition. Before Balin asked me to go with him to get the gold (it's always vengeance with him, you know,) I was an ordinary mining dwarf, and I must say I was pretty good at my job. I guess you could call me polite, as polite as a dwarf can be. I have respect for those in authority, just as long as they don't get on my nerves. I tend to grumble and complain a lot if I'm tired and don't get my way, though I usually don't speak my mind. When I do, though, I come up with plans that usually nobody follows. I'm cautious, and tend to stick with Balin. He has told me all about the day the dragon took our treasure, and has gotten me completely immersed in the subject, so when he told me he was going with a few other dwarves to get it back, I quickly volunteered, and so now I am a part of Thorin and Company. I went to a few meetings about the expedition; all the dwarves seemed nice enough. I just hope there will be no goblins. We were just on our way when Thorin came to the realization that there were thirteen of us, a very unlucky number indeed. We had to wait an entire month before Gandalf informed Thorin that he had found the fourteenth member, a burglar too! There was to be a final meeting at the burglar's home, and Balin and I had planned to arrive together. Scratch that, Balin was SUPPOSED to be the first, but he was late. Another thing: The burglar is a hobbit! I don't know how comfortable I am about that, but Gandalf said he is the best burglar there is. So, here I am, and I hear Balin at the door.

Until Next Time,

Dwalin


	2. Entry Two Up Until the Trolls

Good day, again.

I had no idea the mission would be this dangerous. It has been hectic since the beginning, all starting with the final meeting at Mr. Baggins's home. I arrived first, though Balin was supposed to come, but he ran late. It was a rather awkward meeting, for even though I saw the mark on the door, the little hobbit was surprised just the same. I helped myself to tea and cakes when Mr. Baggins went to the door and in jumped Balin, at last. After a while, all of my friends and some other dwarves came, and it occurred to me that as the time went on we had not talked about the mission as in depth as I had believed we were going to, (Fili and Kili are young, and may have forgotten a few key points,) so I assumed that Mr. Baggins knew about the entire thing. I was surprised that well past midnight he asked Thorin what was going on, even though we had briefly talked and even sung a song about the mission. Gandalf and Thorin refreshed everybody about the Lonely Mountain, even though I had heard the story about a hundred and seventeen times, but it is one of my favorites, so I didn't complain. Well into the wee hours of the morning we finally left. Balin and I joked about Mr. Baggins, for Balin didn't think he would make much of a contribution to the group, but I thought since Gandalf had chosen him, he was as good as any of the dwarves. In the morning we helped ourselves to breakfast because the little hobbit slept in! Balin and I left him a note telling him where to find us, (some of the other dwarves wanted to leave him,) and we left for the Inn, where many ponies awaited us! I have a certain love for ponies. The hobbit finally ran up just as we were about to leave, but he was dreadfully unprepared. Being the kind dwarf I am, I lent him my hood, since he was going on and on about how he didn't have a pocket-handkerchief, hat, or any money. At long last, we started off on our journey. It was all fine and dandy for a few days, until it started to get cold and unpleasant. We made camp in a small ring of trees, and it was so wet that even Oin and Gloin couldn't start a fire! Then, best of all, the pony carrying all of our food got spooked and fell in a river. (The retrieval of the pony was one mission I did not sign up for; poor Fili and Kili.) Even Balin was depressed and quite annoyed by my grumbling. Then we spotted a light in the far distance, and decided to send our good friend, Mr. Baggins, to go make sure they weren't stray goblins. After about an hour, we noticed Gandalf was missing. Just when we needed a wizard to help us. Thorin sent Balin to go check on the hobbit, and after a few minutes when he did not return, I was sent. I feared the worst for Balin, and accidentally walked straight into a ring of trolls, large in size and small in brains. They pulled a sack over my head and put me next to the fire, by what seemed to be Balin. I began to have second thoughts about the hobbit. I tried to warn the other dwarves by thrashing around and yelling, but soon I heard eleven more bags being thrown next to me. We were forced to listen to all the ways the trolls would kill and eat us, and I was beginning to lose hope in ever reaching the Lonely Mountain, when I heard the voice of a fourth troll, obviously an enemy of the main three. Silence followed after a while, and I was released by none other than Gandalf, who had decided to save us, in the nick of time. I thanked him profusely, and changed my mind yet again about the hobbit, who was just trying to give burglary a hand. The trolls had been turned to stone, and we found their lair, which was full of food and gold. Our spirits were lifted once again.

Until Next Time (If I am Still Alive Then, Which I Pray I Am,)

Dwalin.


	3. Entry Three: Until The Last Homely House

Good day, once again. It is I, Dwalin. We are still alive, and nothing particularly dangerous has happened since the incident with the trolls. We arrived at the Misty Mountains a few weeks ago and all has been calm. For now. After we scavenged the troll's lair for any edible food we packed up and headed out on our journey again. It was cold and miserable, and I didn't have my hood. (I was the only one to give the hobbit anything, if you'll kindly remember.) I never imagined the Misty Mountains would take so long to travel across. Gandalf told us he had a friend who would give us food and rest for a few days, and imagine my surprise when we heard singing! I had begun to question the sanity of the wizard. He had taken us to an elf's home, nasty creatures. All play and no work. When I actually listened to their song, I heard they were singing about US! They must have taken notice of me, because they included me in their song. Now that I think about it, it was a rather pleasant tune, but I turned away nevertheless. A tall elf came out of the forest and told us that Elrond was expecting us. I remembered that name somewhere from the stories that were told to me when I was a younger dwarf. The tall elf showed us along a path and we led our ponies by the bridle until we got to a house. The Last Homely House, according to the stories. We had a large dinner and time escaped us. After what Gandalf had informed us we had been staying there for at least fourteen days. I thought it was three days, tops. The night before we left, there was a meeting with Elrond. He read the runes on our map and told us the best way to get into the Lonely Mountain. He bade us farewell the next morning, and I am a tad embarrassed to say I was sad to leave! Maybe my judgement of elves is a bit off?

Until Next Time,

Dwalin


	4. Entry Four: One the Subject of Goblins

I would say good day, but it has been rather dangerous and altogether not a good day. So hello, then. It is I, once again, Dwalin. Since I last made an entry, many things have happened and it is quite a miracle none of us have died. After we left the Last Homely House, a good few weeks ago, everything was fine and dandy. We had food, ponies, and the Misty Mountains ahead of us. One evening, it began to storm, and we were all drenched. Fili and Kili were sent to scout for a shelter, for we couldn't go down to the valley, there were stone giants and we would have been crushed to death. Fili and Kili returned a few minutes later. They led us to a cave, dry and warmer than outside. We searched it thoroughly and finally attempted to sleep. (The rain was very loud and the giants were making such a racket!) At what I later estimated as three in the morning, Mr. Baggins decided to start screaming, I covered my ears and ignored him. I took no more notice until four grubby hands grabbed me, and pulled me into a hole in the wall. I could see I was one of the last to be taken, and a small number of goblins lay dead in the corner. We were captured by goblins, and were going to be eaten for sure! I cursed myself for being interested in this adventure at all as they bound me to what seemed to be Bifur, or Bofur, I'm not quite sure. We were led down a hallway, deeper and deeper into the ground until we were pushed into a chamber with a very large, (and very fat) goblin, who I recognized as the Goblin King. Thorin tried to explain our reasonings for camping in the goblin's cave, but the Goblin King would have none of it. Then, all the sudden, he fell to the ground, dead. Gandalf grabbed the chain full of dwarves and we started running what seemed blindly down passages. I was in the middle of the line, Bifur jerking one of my arms forward, Bombur tugging my other arm backwards. It was uncomfortable and miserable. We finally escaped when Gandalf blew open a passage that was blocked, revealing the outside. We outran the goblins, and he unchained us. Then we killed the few that dared try to track us, and Bifur actually threw one of their heads at an approaching goblin. I'm beginning to like him more. We decided on leaving the burglar, even though I noticed we were back to a size of thirteen. Imagine our surprise when he showed up in the middle of camp one day! I, being a sucker for stories, listened to his over and over again, though he was not very humble with his details. We trekked across a forest, where we were met by none other than Wargs. We quickly scrambled up trees, because they made it fully aware they wanted to kill us. Then, the goblins came. I was just clinging to the tree when suddenly I saw the tree was lit on fire, and I was picked up by an eagle. I flew with my eyes closed, sad that we came that far just to be eaten by a bird. I was very surprised when we were treated as guests and fed the best food eagles have. It appeared that Gandalf was on friendly terms with these eagles, or maybe it's just because they hate Wargs and Goblins. So I am very glad to say that I am still alive.

Sincerely,  
>Dwalin<p> 


	5. Entry Five: A Forest and an Escape

Dear Reader,

I apologize beforehand if my handwriting is sloppy in this post, for I am writing inside a barrel. Room is scarce, and there is little to no light. You may ask, "Why in the world in Dwalin in a barrel?" Well, it's rather confusing if I go ahead and tell you, so I'll start at the beginning. Shortly after the eagles rescued us from the goblins and Wargs, they flew us to safety, far away from them. We travelled for a few more days, and I was about to complain when Gandalf announced we would be visiting his friend. He looked pretty worried, so when he told us not to speak out of turn or lose our tempers, I was a little afraid of this "friend." It turns out this friend was Beorn the skinchanger. I have heard about him some in stories, but I only recognized his name. Gandalf ordered us to all come in pairs, and Balin and I partnered up. After a few dwarfs had already gone down the path, we went, and it was a quite pleasant path if I do say so myself. There were flowers and bees buzzing around everywhere, and it wasn't until I saw the large man talking to Gandalf did I remember my manners. I bowed so low my beard caught the ground, and Balin kept bowing, so I did too. We bowed and bowed until Beorn starting laughing. Then we went, slightly embarrassed, to stand beside the other dwarfs. I was a little afraid of Beorn at first, but he was actually pretty kind for what I've heard about him. He let us stay at his home, he gave us all the food we could imagine and told us wonderful stories. He warned us not to go outside after dark and I assume none of us did, because in the morning we were all still there, but Beorn was nowhere to be found. When Beorn came back, we started off on our journey again, and he supplied us food and ponies! (My pony was white with brown speckles; I think Beorn knows how much I like ponies.) He also told us not to stray from the path and don't touch water from a river. Mirkwood lay ahead of us. When we reached its entrance, the ponies were sent back, Gandalf left us, and we travelled on foot. I wasn't too sure how well far we would get without the help of a wizard. But, everything was good for a few days, the food was lasting and we weren't tired yet. Then, the food started disappearing. (I blame Bombur.) Suddenly, I wished Gandalf were with us again. We found the river, and Bilbo saw a boat. We used rope to reel it in, and we went across. I was stuck in the last trip, with Bombur. Just as we were getting out a beautiful deer flew over us. I ducked, but Bombur lost his balance and fell in. Several dwarves rushed to help him, and by the time they got him out, he was already asleep. We figured out what the river does. Most of the food was gone, and we started starving, so when we saw a deer on our fifteenth day in Mirkwood, Bifur, Balin, and Gloin tried to shoot at it with their bows, wasting the last ones we had left. Hungry, lost, and tired, Mirkwood seemed to never end. That, and I was stuck carrying Bombur, who hadn't woken up yet. When he does, he's going to get an earful from me. Anyway, we were so hungry and desperate that when we saw a light in the forest, we forgot Beorn's warning and ran towards it. I saw elves, eating and dancing. The hobbit rushed into the party, when all the lights when out and the elves disappeared. That happened a few more times when we all started running. The next thing I remember, spiders kidnapped us, and that is not a pleasant thing to experience. Once again, we were made to listen the many different ways we were going to be eaten. Then I felt myself being cut loose. Mr. Baggins had come to save the day! After we defeated the spiders, I struggled to find the path. I found Balin and a few others, and soon enough all of us were camping out in pitch-blackness. We were all trying to get to sleep when I remembered something.

"Where's Thorin?" No sooner had I said that than elves poured out from the trees, and captured us. I wonder how many times we've been kidnapped on the course of this adventure. We were brought before the Elvenking, and after none of us would tell him why we were in Mirkwood, he locked us up. We stayed there for a few days, none of us telling the reason for our adventure. It wasn't all that bad because they gave us food and the cells were comfy enough. What really surprised me was when Bilbo showed up outside my cell door. He had a plan to escape, and I wasn't sure how it was going to work, so for the most part I went along with it. Then I was locked in a barrel. So here I am now.

Safe Journeys,

Dwalin


	6. Entry Six: On the Subject of Endings

The adventure is finally over! The treasure is ours, but it did not come without consequence and loss. I am now writing safely in the comfort of the cave, trying to move my fourteenth share away. Shortly after we escaped from the barrels, we arrived at Lake-Town. Thorin explained to them that he was King Under-the-Mountain, and they had a celebration for us. For several days we stayed there, but the Master of the town didn't seem too happy to see us. They sent us on our way with food and ponies, (Once again, I was happy. My pony was gray) and we started up to the Lonely Mountain. It is bigger than I had ever imagined! It took us several days to actually get up to it, but our ponies couldn't get up the side of a cliff. We left Bofur and Bombur to keep watch over them. Thorin took out the map, and we found what seemed to be the secret entrance to Smaug's cave. We began to lose hope, for we could not open the door. I came up with a wonderful, foolproof plan. I proposed Bilbo, with his magic ring, could go spy on the dragon through the Front Entrance. He didn't seem too fond of this idea. Then we remembered the runes Elrond read for us. Luckily, the moon was in the position it was supposed to be that night. Thorin turned the key and the door opened. We decided to send our dear friend Mr. Baggins to investigate. Balin volunteered to go with him. They were gone for a long time, and I was beginning to think my dear brother was dead. He came back after about thirty minutes, hobbit-less. Bilbo had ventured even further into the cave. During his absence, we told stories to each other, and what we were going to do with our share of the gold. I told everyone I wanted to go back and mine again, maybe buy and pony or two. They laughed. Bilbo came back, holding a golden cup. We congratulated him. Then a giant roar cried out. It turns out the cup had been one of the dragon's favorites. We were all prepared to go into the cave when Bifur remembered Bofur and Bombur were still in the valley. Since Bifur and I had become good friends over the course of the adventure, I volunteered to help get them back up. I was also worried about my pony. We only managed to save Bofur and Bombur. (It took too many of us to get Bombur up that we didn't have time to save our ponies) I got to the safety of the cave just in time. Smaug smashed the entrance to the secret door, trapping us inside. Then I assume he flew back to his cave. We sent the hobbit back out again to check. He appeared to be having a conversation with Smaug, and came back singed. We stayed there for a while, and when we were sure Smaug had left, we went down the tunnel to get our treasure. It was beautiful! A giant, glowing pile of gold and jewels. We took a few things, then we escaped out of the cave in fear of Smaug. We stayed hidden for many days, until we heard the news that Smaug had attacked Lake-Town, and was killed. We also heard that the Lake-Men and the Elves were coming to claim a piece of the treasure. Thorin would definitely let that happen. We all went into the cave, and built a wall across the entrance. For the next few days, as we waited for the others to come, we just sat around on the treasure, and strengthened the wall. I didn't really listen to the countless messengers that came, because I knew Thorin would never listen to them. Then we received news that they had the Arkenstone! Thorin had us searching for it forever and a day. Bilbo had given it to the men and elves. I honestly thought that Thorin was going to murder him, and I was going to intervene. But I decided against it. Balin and I were rather sad to see the little guy go. I mostly stayed inside the deeper part of the cave then, for I had no particular interest in what the elves wanted. I always valued gold more than jewels, anyway. Then, a few days ago, something happened. The sky grew black. The goblins were coming. The elves and humans, along with Dain and his army, were formulating a strategy to cut them off. I stayed inside, not wanting to get over my head in something that didn't concern me. Thorin decided to rush out into the middle of the battle and Fili and Kili joined him. A bunch of other dwarves ran out, and I was almost knocked over by Gloin. I decided, "What the heck. You only live once, right?" Then I followed after them. I tried to make my way along the backlines, being careful not to engage in any fighting. When I saw Balin fighting a goblin, I ran over, but by the time I got there he had already killed it. Bifur was struggling against two, so I ran to help him. Together we killed about five, suffering only scratches. Now, I was feeling a little over-confident in myself, and rushed out blindly into the field. I have no idea how I managed to survive the whole thing, but I killed an estimated fifteen goblins and three Wargs. When I made my way back to safety, I scrambled up on a rock, so I could see everything. I was close enough to the center that I could see which of my friends hadn't survived. I could make out a few that were living, and I could also see Fili and Kili protecting Thorin from a bunch of Wargs and goblins that were trying to attack them. Somebody on a ledge started crying about eagles, and when I looked to the sky, there were many coming. Maybe we weren't going to lose! The eagles pecked at the enemies, but even that wasn't enough. I was beginning to lose hope, and I was surrounded by goblins on two sides. I heard another cry. The goblins were distracted, and I killed most of them. Then I too was distracted. There was a giant animal ripping goblins and Wargs to shreds. It took me a moment to realize who it was. Beorn had come to save the day! But, unfortunately, a sneaky goblin came up behind me and nearly cut my arm off. Luckily, I received only a small gash. I scurried away to safety. We would win after all.

Well, it turned out that we did win, but it didn't come without losses. Fili and Kili had been killed during battle, and Thorin was severely wounded. Bilbo had been presumed dead because no one could find him. We each took our share of the gold, and there was much celebrating. Bilbo came back, and Thorin died. The ending of this adventure is bittersweet. But I can guarantee it will not be the last I hope to go on. So goodbye, my dear friend, and may luck be ever with you!

Dwalin

(P.S. I have already used some of my treasure. I bought a new pony. I will not let this one get eaten by anything.)

(P.P.S. It turns out my other pony didn't get eaten by Smaug. I am a very happy dwarf!)


End file.
